Joy in Mudville written by Bob Raczka and illustrated by Glin Dibley (2014)

A new take on an old poem, Bob Raczka tells the story of a female player for the Mudville Nine who saves the day after Casey struck out at bat. And how she did it will surprise and astound readers and ball lovers across the country. Joy has a unique pitch, three in fact, and an even more unique throw. The final out and winning play went like this: “The ball arrived. The runner slid. A dust cloud filled the air. The umpire took his time, then yelled at last,’Yer outta there!’ So as the Mudville players swarmed the mound like buzzing bees, the humbled fans applauded Joy’s originality.”

Makes you want to find out how she did it, doesn’t it? Well, I ain’t telling! You’ll have to pick up your own copy and read it for yourself. But I will tell you this…”there was joy in Mudville once again”.

And for anyone who wants to reread the original ‘Casey at the Bat’ by Ernest Lawrence Thayer, it is printed in full on the last page.

As for the illustrations… you’ve just got to see them to believe that you are right there in a bygone era of baseball. Glin Dibley is a master of caricature. His illustrations are exciting and dramatic. They take you from the stands to the field the minute Joy takes the mound.